A Direct Determination of Sulfate Conjugates of 17-Oxosteroids in Urine by Use of Benzyltributylammonium Chloride

We describe a direct method for determining four sulfates and seven glucuronides of 17-oxosteroids (17OS) in urine without hydrolysis, by use of "high-performance" liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorometric detection. After pretreatment of urine samples with a Sep-Pak C18 cartridge, four 17OS sulfates and seven 17OS glucuronides in the pretreated urine samples were reacted with tetrapentylammonium ions to form ion pairs. Ion-paired 17OS sulfates were extracted with benzene. By adding sodium sulfate to the remaining sample, we could then extract ion-paired 17OS glucuronides with dichloromethane. Each extract was labeled with dansyl-hydrazine in an acetic acid-acetonitrile solution. The labeled steroids were separated by HPLC on a reversed-phase Capcell-Pak C8 (silicon-polymer-coated silica gel modified with octyl groups). We monitored each effluent with a fluorometric detector (330 nmexcitation, 535 nmemission).

We describe a new liquid-chromatographic method with fluorescence detection for direct simultaneous determination of four urinary sulfate conjugates of 17-oxosteroids (17OS), without use of solvolysis or enzymatic hydrolysis. The 17OS sulfates in urine samples are extracted with benzene as ion pairs in the presence of benzyltributylammonium chloride. These ion pairs are converted to hydrazones by use of dansyl hydrazine in trichloroacetic acid solution and then are separated by liquid chromatography. The proposed method, being simple and rapid, shows a good separation of 17OS sulfates and superior sensitivity, sufficient recovery, and good reproducibility.

1. Urinary 17-oxosteroid conjugates were measured by gas-liquid chromatography in five patients with hereditary coproporphyria. 2. Three patients were in an acute attack and showed significantly increased excretion of sulphate or glucuronide conjugates of aetiocholanolone. There was increased excretion of several other related steroids but no consistent pattern was apparent. 3. In the two patients in remission, excretion of urinary 17-oxosteroids was not increased. 4. The ratio of total urinary aetiocholanolone to androsterone (5beta:5alpha) was found to be significantly elevated for the three patients in an acute attack. Serial measurements were made in two of these patients and showed a highly significant linear correaltion between this ratio and the urinary content of delta-aminolaevulic acid and porphobilinogen. 5. These observations suggest the involvement of the 17-oxosteroids, espically aetiocholanolone, in the pathogenesis of hereditary coproporphyria.

Determination of 17-oxosteroid glucuronides and sulfates in urine and serum by fluorescence high-performance liquid chromatography using dansyl hydrazine as a pre-labeling reagent

Excretion of endogenous 11-deoxy-17-oxo steroid conjugates in human urine

Direct determination of anabolic steroid conjugates in human urine by combined high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the direct determination of 4-methylumbelliferone and its glucuronide and sulfate conjugates: Application to studies in the single-pass in situ perfused rat intestine—liver preparation

Bromophenol glucuronide and sulfate conjugates have been reported to be products of mammalian metabolism of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), a group of additive flame-retardants found ubiquitously in the environment. In order to explore their occurrence in human urine, four water-soluble bromophenol conjugates, namely, 2,4-dibromophenyl glucuronide, 2,4,6-tribromophenyl glucuronide, 2,4-dibromophenyl sulfate, and 2,4,6-tribromophenyl sulfate, were synthesized, purified, and characterized. An analytical protocol using solid-phase extraction and ion-paired liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) quantification has been developed for the direct and simultaneous determination of these glucuronide and sulfate conjugates in human urine samples. The limit of detections for all analytes were below 13 pg mL(-1), with 73-101% analyte recovery and 7.2-8.6% repeatability. The method was applied to analyze 20 human urine samples collected randomly from voluntary donors in Hong Kong SAR, China. All the samples were found to contain one or more of the bromophenol conjugates, with concentration ranging from 0.13-2.45 μg g(-1) creatinine. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analytical protocol for the direct and simultaneous monitoring of these potential phase II metabolites of PBDEs in human urine. Our results have also suggested the potential of these bromophenol conjugates in human urine to be convenient molecular markers for the quantification of population exposure to PBDEs.

A new sample preparation method coupled to GC-MS analysis was developed and validated for quantification of sulfate esters of pregnenolone (PREG-S) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA-S) in rat brain. Using a solid-phase extraction recycling protocol, the results show that little or no PREG-S and DHEA-S (<1 pmol/g) is present in rat and mouse brain. These data are in agreement with studies in which steroid sulfates were analyzed without deconjugation. We suggest that the discrepancies between analyses with and without deconjugation are caused by internal contamination of brain extract fractions, supposed to contain steroid sulfates, by lipoidal forms of PREG and DHEA (L-PREG and L-DHEA, respectively). These derivatives can be acylated very efficiently with heptafluorobutyric anhydride and triethylamine, and their levels in rodent brain (approximately 1 nmol/g) are much higher than those of their unconjugated counterparts. They are distinct from fatty acid esters, and preliminary data do not favor structures such as sulfolipids or sterol peroxides. Noncovalent interactions between steroids and proteolipidic elements, such as lipoproteins, could account for some experimental data. Given their abundance in rodent brain, the structural characterization and biological functions of L-PREG and L-DHEA in the central nervous system merit considerable attention.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometric determination of triterpenes in human fluids: Evaluation of markers of dietary intake of olive oil and metabolic disposition of oleanolic acid and maslinic acid in humans

Determination of α- and β-boldenone sulfate, glucuronide and free forms, and androstadienedione in bovine urine using immunoaffinity columns clean-up and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis